High Court to Hear Challenge to Individual Mandate

The Supreme Court this morning agreed to hear appeals from the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, in Atlanta, the first appellate review to find the individual mandate provision required in the 2010 health care reform law unconstitutional, says an article in the New York Times. The decision, issued in August from a divided 2-judge panel, said the mandate "overstepped congressional authority and could not be justified by the constitutional power to regulate commerce or to lay and collect taxes."

If the high court finds the mandate unconstitutional, the justices also will decide how much of the Affordable Care Act "must fall along with it."

Today's announcement sets the stage for oral arguments to begin by March 2012 and a decision to be issued in late June 2012, in the midst of the presidential campaign, the Times says.

Comments

If the Individual Mandate is overturned, an event that is becoming more unlikely, the healthcare industry and physical therapists will still need to prepare for an ADDITIONAL 23 million Americans with NEW insurance coverage.
Federal subsidies provided through state-based insurance purchasing exchanges will mitigate the effect of rate hikes due to any "premium spiral".
Most likely, the Individual Mandate will NOT be lifted and we will see an additional 32 million Americans obtain coverage in the next two years.
Tim
http://www.PhysicalTherapyDiagnosis.com